Kryvyi Rih or Krivoy Rog (Ukrainian: Кривий Ріг, Russian: Кривой Рог) is a city in central Ukraine. It is situated in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, to the southwest of the oblast's administrative center, Dnipropetrovsk, at the confluence of the Inhulets and Saksahan rivers. The estimated population was 690,622 as of 2007

Kryvyi Rih is arguably the main steel industry city of Eastern Europe, being a large globally-important metallurgical center in the Kryvbas iron mining region. (See below)

Kryvbas (Ukrainian: Кривбас, full rarely-used name Kryvorizkyi Iron Ore Basin, Ukrainian: Криворізький залізорудний басейн) is an important economic region in central Ukraine, specializing in iron ore mining and the steel industry. It is arguably the main iron ore region of Eastern Europe. Named after the city of Kryvyi Rih, the region occupies the southeastern part of the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, as well as a small neighboring part of the Kirovograd Oblast.

The region possesses major deposits of iron ore and some other metallurgical ores. To exploit them, several large mining companies were founded here in the middle of the 20th century. Most of them are located in Kryvyi Rih itself, which is the longest city in Europe.

Kryvorizhstal (located in Kryvyi Rih) is the largest and most up-to-date steel company in the region (as well as in the whole Ukraine), comprising not only ore facilities, but also major steel mill (the only one in the city). Other ore companies supply their raw materials to either Kryvorizhstal or steel mills outside the region (particularly to Dnipropetrovsk).Steel companies of the region (except Mittal Steel-owned Kryvorizhstal) are controlled by either the Private Group or the SCM. From the 1990s until 2004, these once united and state-owned industries went through a hard and scandal-ridden process of privatization.

History

The city was founded in the 17th century by Zaporozhian Cossacks. Kryvyi Rih in Ukrainian literally means Crooked Horn. According to local legend, the city was founded by a crooked (Ukrainian slang for one-eyed) Cossack named Rih. However, records pre-dating the existence of the city refer to the area by the same name, due to the shape of the landmass formed by the merging of the river Saksagan into the Inhulets.

The area's industrial growth began in the 1880s, when European investment founded a mining syndicate. The metallurgical works in the city, Kryvorizhstal, in particular, expanded through Soviet times, and now remain some of the largest in the world.

During the Russian Civil War, the city and its hinterland were at the nucleus of Nestor Makhno's anarchist insurgency.

During WWII, Kryvyi Rih was almost totally destroyed by the fleeing Red Army. After the war people lived among the ruins while housing stocks were rebuilt. The housing shortage was met by innovative technological solutions, which meant temporary barracks and houses could be built quickly. The two kinds of cheap new materials were used later for years afterwards.

The Climate

Climate is steppe, Atlantic-continental, characterized by the hot dry summer and moderately soft winter with often thawing weather. Average duration of frostless period is 182 days, maximal - 224 days.

The most part of precipitations during a warm part of the year (April - October) is 268 mm. The daily maximum (90 mm) was observed in June, 1913.Amount of days with snow cover is 69. A steady snow cover almost does not happen. The height of snow average of the biggest for winter is 10 cm, maximal - 30 cm.Primary directions of winds: in the warm period of the year - northern (18, 4 % of days), in the cold period - eastern (17, 6 % of days).

A Unique Metro Tram system, comprising 11 stations, is a mainstay of the city transportation.

The Kryvyi Rih (Krivoy Rog) Metro tram (Ukrainian: Криворізький Швидкісний Tрамвай; Russian: Криворожский Скоростной Трамвай) is a partially underground rapid tram system that serves the city of Kryvyi Rih, the eighth largest city in Ukraine. Despite of naming and use of tram rolling stock, de facto this is completely rapid transit system with fenced stations and tracks that fully separated from roads and segregated from city's conventional tram system.

The design of the Metro tram that one sees in Kryvyi Rih finds its roots in the socialist urban planning guidelines that were formed in the 1960s for model designs on how urban centers grow and the transport arrangements that would suit them. In particular how a small settlement would grow into a full city and at what point would a rapid transit system be built. Kryvyi Rih and Volgograd were both chosen to test whether or not it could be avoided building a full scale Metro system and instead adopt the light rail design to a socialist city. Both cities had developed tram networks, but like most urban centers, the overcrowding and large congestion proved too much for the trams to serve roles of transport arteries. Moreover both cities were destroyed in World War II and built anew, with all the requirements of a modern city in plan.

In both cases the Metro tram would only serve as an interim, but necessary role, with provision for conversion into a full Metro system. Construction began simultaneously in mid 1970s. In Volgograd this involved separating an existing tram route with an underground section in the city centre. In Kryvyi Rih, however, the Metro tram route was laid anew, but in a similar manner, with most of the section going on the surface, save the centre of the city. All of the underground dimensions were made with provision for eventual conversion into a full Metro system.

As the Kryvyi Rih Metro tram was built anew, even the surface sections are referred to as stations (as opposed to stops) and all are separate complexes, showing some of the more elaborate designs of late Soviet architecture. On 26 December 1986, the Ukrainian SSR received its third underground rapid-transit system, after Kiev and Kharkov Metros

General information on city of Kryvyi Rih

The city has received its name due to the form of a curve horn on the merge of the rivers Ingulets and Saksagan where the first settlement was founded. According to another version, the name was given after Zaporizhzhia Cossack Horn nicknamed "Lame" ("Curve") who lodged in this picturesque place. Modern Kryvyi Rih is a big industrial city, it has 7 administrative areas: Dzerzhynskyi, Dovhintsvskyi, Zhovtnevyi, Inguletskyi, Saksaganskyi, Ternovskyi and Central - city.

Kryvyi Rih is the centre of Kryvyi Rih iron ore basin, the major raw-material base of metallurgy of Ukraine. The prospected resources of iron ores make over 32 billion tons, including deposits of rich martite ores - unique raw material for powder metallurgy and electronic industry.

Kryvyi Rih takes the third place in the world in extraction of iron ore, mining complex of Kryvyi Rih provides about 90 percents of total amounts of extraction of iron ore, manufacture of a concentrate and pellets in Ukraine. The bowels of Kryvyi Rih are rich also in other minerals: deposits of granite, marble, kaolines, bauxites, brown coal, also they are rich in stocks of mineral raw for manufacture of paints, deposits of lime, sand, dolomite, mineral water, etc.

According to the results of drilling Kryvyi Rih super deep prospecting hole (5432 meters), there are also deposits of tungsten, molybdenum, zinc, tin and other metals. The economic potential of the city includes more than 6 thousand enterprises, from which 3, 1 % are the state enterprises, 60, 8 % - collective enterprises, 36, and 1 % - a private enterprises. The economic complex totals 90 large enterprises of different branches: mining, metallurgical, machine-building, building and construction materials production, chemical, printing, wood-working, light and food industry and others.

The major industry is iron and steel metallurgy. It is a powerful industrial complex which includes mining and metallurgical mills, four MCMs and one iron ore combine two mine managements, three plants for mining equipment maintenance and other. The prevailing range of products are iron ore, concentrates, agglomerates, pellets, pig-iron, steel, ready rolled products (round bars, angles, sheets and plates). Mining and metallurgical complex takes 93, 4 % of total volume of industrial production in the city.

The only minimum factory in the country produces iron minimum which is of great demand in Ukraine and also abroad. 22 enterprises of industrial branch manufacture different goods.

The food-processing enterprises are in constant search of expansion of the sphere of the activity, maintenance of profitable work. The former barmy factory, and nowadays limited joint-stock company "The Hope ", is engaged in manufacture of sausages, bread, beer, mixed fodders, cattle fattening, pigs and others, except for the manufacture of yeast. Milk factories have mastered manufacture of bakery products, mayonnaises, mustard, smoked sausages, smoked and salty fish.

Much attention is given to the enterprises and to the development of original trade in the city. There are modern decorated shops which buyers visit with pleasure.

The building complex is represented by the building organizations of different specialization, the cement combine, ferro-concrete production factories, and local construction materials factories.

Recent together with great industrial construction the erection of habitation and objects of social sphere took place. Due to it the small town has grown into a big modern city.

City passenger transport is an integral part of the complex of life-support of the city population, as the city has specificity of building, extent, placing of industrial zones. The specialized passenger auto enterprises provide passenger transportations. 116 passenger bus routes function daily. Electro transport of the city is 22 trolleybus routes the extent of which is 258, 1 km, and 20 tram routes with the length of 88, 1 km. Since 1986 the population of city uses a high-speed tram. Its line length is 18 km.

The international airport functions in the city; it can receive modern planes and serves the international airlines. The Kryvyi Rih management of rail transportation is one of the largest among the railways in Ukraine.

The telephone system of the city includes 13 operators of communication of different patterns of ownership. The wealth of the city is not only its powerful manufacturing-territorial complex, but also a significant network of education, culture, sports, health protection.

Today there are totaled 156 general educational establishments of all types, 149 preschool educational establishments, and 4 boarding schools for children with disabilities, 4 children's houses, 3 orphanages and a teaching- and-educational social - rehabilitation complexes.

A great attention is given to the work with talented youth. 18 establishments of new type function in the city: lyceums, grammar schools, collegiums, the specialized schools which use new pedagogical technologies.

Graduates of teaching-educational establishments of city adequately support its honor on Olympiads, competitions; defend research works in The Pupils' Academy of Sciences.

Educational activity take place at 15 high schools (technical schools, schools, colleges) of I - II level of accreditation, 4 high schools of III - IV level of accreditation of the state pattern of ownership, private educational establishment "The Institute of business administration " (III level of accreditation) and 12 structural divisions of high schools of the state and not state pattern of ownership. In total it trains about 42 thousand students in higher educational institutions of the city.

77 doctors and 563 candidates of sciences, 125 post-graduate students and scientists work in educational institutions and research establishments.

Scientists of the city develop a number of high technologies of extraction and enrichment of iron ores and worldly known devices, in particular for the definition of ores quality, automated management of productions. Ultrasonic granulo meter "Pulsar" developed by the scientists of KTU, is patented in the USA, France, Canada, Great Britain, Germany and other countries.

The device for the operative control of useful component in ores of ferrous metals PAKS-4 is patented in Ukraine and introduced at the enterprises of Kryvyi Rih.

The city became the centre of the international festivals like as "Horizons of Jazz", " Kryvyi Rih Cup", festivals "Jazz and Youth", "The Magic Flute", "Mine Ukraine", "Masks", "The Young Circus of Ukraine", "Silver Spring", "Spivogray", bard songs festival "The Terni String", a choral spiritual music.

233 club formations of a different structure exist in 19 Palaces of culture and clubs of the city, including 146 collectives of amateur performances. 38 collectives of amateur performances ranked as "national", 28 as "exemplary". Lately about 30 collectives of amateur performances became winners at international and Ukraine competitions of national creativity.

All conditions for occupations by physical culture and sports are created for the city dwellers. There are 17 stadiums, 12 swimming pools, a plenty of sports halls, shooting galleries, athletic fields, gymnastic small towns with the training equipment, the health centers. Over then 10 thousand sportsmen from 25 kinds of sports are engaged at 18 sports schools. Our sportsmen take prize-winning places at the most prestigious competitions: Olympic, Para-Olympic games, the championships, the World and Europe shooting championships, power-lifting, track and field athletics, sports acrobatics and others.

The city has more than 4000 multi-storey houses; 26,7 million sq. m motorways; 1,9 thousand km. networks of hot water supply; 1,3 thousand km. of gas mains; 1,6 thousand water supply systems in the structure of a housing and communal services.

The city is very green. There are 21 parks, 134 squares, 12 quays, 22 gardens which stretch at the area of 16 thousand acres.

Kryvyi Rih is not a typical tourist destination and there are few hotels. There is an overnight sleeper train from Kiev or you can fly to Kryvyi Rih. The Kryvyi Rih (also known as Lozuvatka) International Airport after the restoration which had begun in 2002 and finished in 2007 handles charter flights, private planes and flights to Kyiv.